HARRISTON – 2022 is the Year of the Garden – a Canada-wide endeavour.
That was the thrust of the mini workshop presented on June 18 to the youth who regularly visit the Harriston Library. The program was a combined effort by the library staff and the Harriston Horticultural Society.
While some of the youth were aware of the Year of the Garden, for the rest a simple explanation was given: “The idea is that this year every household should try gardening in one way or the other. If the family has always gardened then try something new. If never gardened before – then try just a few things and see what happens. The colour theme is red, so it’s hoped that as people drive up and down country roads and city streets that they will see “Red” all over the place.”
The horticultural society’s junior program was designed to include the Year of the Garden criteria. It was suggested that although vegetables form a big part of the dinner plate, flowers can also have a role. Many flowers and their petals are edible and provide tasty additions to salads. Needless to say, when the students tried chomping on Nasturtium leaves their faces puckered up at the sour peppery flavour.
Each youth was provided with a seedling “dwarf” tomato plant. These tomato plants are truly dwarf as they max out at under 12 inches and are covered with red marble-sized salad tomatoes. They also received seedlings for red Bachelor’s Buttons and red Nasturtiums. As an experiment the youngsters planted a large pot with one each of the three seedlings. They also took home three other seedlings to be planted in the ground. They will be responsible to care for, and nurture all plants during the summer, and determine which grew the best.
Meanwhile the library staff showed how to make advertising buttons and let them try the machine. Each youth received a large button with the “2022 Year of the Garden” logo printed on it.
Submitted by Willa Wick, who is a member of the Harriston Horticultural Society.